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The 20-stone exam

February 22, 2014 By Danielle

Today, I took my 20-stone final exam for Gem Identification. If I pass, I’ll officially be a Graduate Gemologist! (If not, see you again in two weeks… same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.)

I’ve been increasingly anxious about the exam, ever since the materials shipped on Thursday. There’s no way to “study” as such, although I did write up an index of stones I’ve seen, and mark my lab manual appropriately. When I got up this morning, I wasn’t sure how to feel, but I took myself and all my equipment down to the local community college. (My proctor is the geology professor there, my long-time friend Dr. Bill Hirt.)

I took the test in two three-hour blocks (10 stones each), with a lunch break in between. Overall, I think I did pretty well. I was able to get through each set of stones with plenty of time to review my worksheet. (At first, it took me six to eight hours to grade a box of twenty stones. I completed my exam in slightly over four hours, which feels pretty good.)

I hope to get my results on Wednesday or Thursday. Will post again when I know!

Filed Under: Gems & Gemology Tagged With: distance education, gem ident

Nearing the end…

February 9, 2014 By Danielle

The last box!This weekend, I finished the very last stone box for Gem Identification. (Waiting for it to be graded now.) It’s a little hard to believe, after all this time, that I’m so close to getting my diploma… okay, really hard to believe. It’s been a little over three years since I started my distance education coursework at GIA, and as soon as I pass this last box, I’ll be ready to take the 20-stone final. (I whined about described this earlier.)

I’ll be able to take the final this month. It’s possible that I could take and pass the final this month. After that, I’ll officially be a Graduate Gemologist! (This is very surreal.)

Filed Under: Gems & Gemology Tagged With: distance education, gem ident

Fabrication 2: Toggle Bracelet

January 17, 2014 By Danielle

My in-progress pictures of the first two projects of Fab 2 didn’t turn out, and I haven’t taken pictures of the finished results (such as they are.) For now, I’ll just mention them: the first project was a twisted wire ring of silver and copper, designed to be seamless (tricky, since you have to exactly match the twists where you cut), with both wires soldered shut (tricky, since the metals solder at different temperatures.) The second was a carved ring, starting from a square cast silver ring, which was divided into quarters and carved (filed) into a half-dome section, a fully round section, and a twisted pattern section.

Mostly I was occupied with the third project, which took about half the class hours to construct. Submitted for your approval: the Toggle Bracelet.

The "materials kit" for Fabrication 2.

As hard as it is for me to believe, wearing it, the toggle bracelet started as that large coil of silver wire in the picture. (Yep, everything you are about to see came out of that coil. It’s crazy. Stay with me here.) We started by measuring out and setting aside a portion of wire, in order to construct the toggle clasp part of the bracelet.

We created a toggle bar from wire, attached it to a figure-eight connector made from a pair of smaller jump rings soldered together, and melted two other small jump rings to create a ball for each end of the bar. The loop was created from wire, soldered, and hammered into a round shape, then sawn back open so as to insert the other figure-eight loop that attached it to the bracelet, and solder it shut again. (You solder it shut initially so you can hammer it into a circle, which you couldn’t do if the connector was already on it.)

Fabrication 2: Look at all them jump rings!

The rest of the wire, we coiled around a mandrel (steel rod) to form a long spring. This, we carefully sawed through, creating jump rings (or links, or loops.) A LOT of jump rings.

(Guess what a chain bracelet is made of? A WHOLE LOTTA JUMP RINGS, FOLKS.)

Fabrication 2: Pick-soldering jump rings closed.

Since all the links on the chain needed to be soldered shut, we started by soldering half the jump rings shut. I can now say I can competently pick-solder. (All it means is, instead of laying a chip of solder directly on the seam and heating the piece until it flows, you melt the solder separately, pick up the solder on the point of your soldering pick — a pointed rod that doesn’t solder to anything, in a wooden handle so it doesn’t burn you — heat the piece, and touch the solder to the seam once the temperature is right. It sounds complicated, but it makes soldering jobs like this go very quickly.)

Fabrication 2: Finished length of chain, which I forgot to measure to fit my wrist.

Once this initial batch is done, you start assembly, by taking an open jump ring, stringing two closed rings on, then soldering the open one shut to make chains of three. Then you connect two threes with a ring and make sevens, connect sevens to make fifteens, etc, until you have a finished length of chain. Somewhere in there, you stop and measure the chain against your wrist, and stop at a certain length — in my frenzy to complete the bracelet by the end of the class, I sortof forgot that step, which is why my bracelet is about an inch too long. [sigh]

Anyway, here it is. Hard to take a picture of a bracelet while you’re wearing it…

Fabrication 2: Completed chain bracelet with toggle clasp.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing

Fabrication 1

January 13, 2014 By Danielle

I’m taking the first two fabrication classes at Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts in San Francisco this week (just finished Fabrication 1 yesterday; starting Fabrication 2 today. I never did talk about the wax carving class I took here last summer; is anyone interested? I suppose posting belatedly is better than not posting at all.)

Although I had some soldering experience, enough that I debated skipping Fab 1, I really learned a ton in the past three days. It went far beyond basic soldering skills; we also learned how to saw, file, sand, buff, and polish. We learned about tools — we made tools. I had no idea how little I understood about metals and hardness. It was quite an experience.

Fabrication 1: earrings. At this point they are glued together and sawn as one unit, so they'll match exactly.

Probably the most complex project we made was a pair of pierced (cut-out), domed earrings in a matched geometric pattern. (Apologies in advance for my crummy phone-camera pictures; it never seems to focus on what I’m photographing.) We started by cleaning two pieces of silver and gluing them together, then gluing on a pattern to cut out. Holes are drilled in the middle of each cut-out, so a saw blade can be strung through and each section can be sawed out. Once the interior cuts are done, the outside is sawed to form a circle. The piece is then filed as a unit, to smooth out the cut-outs and the outside, before the pieces are separated into a matched set.

Fabrication 1: earrings, separated and domed

Once separated, the earrings are domed using a dapping block — a cube with half-round holes in it, of various sizes; you stick the flat piece into the size you want, then use a large peg with a spherical end (a dap) and a mallet to form the domed shape. After this, additional filing is done to the individual earrings, and a lot of sanding to remove any file marks, scratches or pits. Once this is done, the pieces are buffed, earring posts are soldered onto the back, then another trip through the buffer and final polishing is done.

We also made three rings: one in nickel, using round wire; one in silver, using square wire; and one in gold-fill, using half-round wire. In each case, we learned to properly calculate the length of wire needed to accurately size the ring, soldered it appropriately based on what type of metal it was, and clean up the solder joint to form a seamless ring. (Your seamless-ness may vary, though I’m happy enough with them that I’m wearing them all at once. Jewelry class is making me particularly bling-tastic, today.)

Finally, yesterday afternoon, we made a small bezel pendant with an onyx stone, with a soldered jump ring. Although I’ve made many a bezel setting before, I learned a new method of doing it, and this was by far the smallest bezel I’ve made or set.

Here’s the finished pieces!

Fabrication 1: pierced domed earrings; three rings in nickel, silver, and gold; bezel pendant.
Fabrication 1: pierced domed earrings; three rings in nickel, silver, and gold; bezel pendant.

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing

Wayback Machine: More jewelry, more stones

January 13, 2014 By Danielle

Before I post new things, let me show you some jewelry pieces I made last summer and fall…

In August, I made two labradorite rings (one for me, one for a friend), and a labradorite cuff bracelet that I adore, for me. Very pleased with how these three came out!

Labradorite cuff bracelet, sterling silver, August 2013 Labradorite rings, sterling silver, August 2013

I then had a two month hiatus while my local teacher was out of town. In November, I made two pendants, both turquoise: one was a commission from my friend Annie, using turquoise from a specific mine (Morenci); the other used Hubei turquoise from China, and is rather large. I may wear it if I can figure out an appropriately big chain for it (and work up the nerve.)

Morenci turquoise pendant for Annie, sterling silver, November 2013 Hubei turquoise pendant, sterling silver, November 2013

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing, labradorite, turquoise

400 stones identified

November 24, 2013 By Danielle

Examining an unknown stone for Gem Ident…100 more to go, for a total of 500 stones. Or, if you’d rather hear it in boxes, I’ve finished my 20th box, with five more left. I have one more in-hand, four yet to be delivered. I admit, reaching this milestone makes finishing Gemstone Identification seem more… feasible. I’ll have nearly six months to pass the final. (Hopefully, that’s way more time than I’ll need.)

Yep, they're all... RED.I’m in the home stretch now, which means the helpful stone-by-stone video tutorials have gone away. [sigh] I have one or two more boxes where I can miss up to one stone; the last few allow for no errors. Which is fine, that’s how the final is too (all-or-none).

Let me explain the final. You get twenty stones, and six hours to identify them. If you misidentify any stone, you fail. If you correctly identify a stone, but write the identification in the wrong part of the box, you fail. You can retake the final… but they send a different box of stones.

(Are we having fun yet??)

So that’s what’s in store for me, hopefully in late January. At this point, I just want to get it over with, get my Graduate Gemologist diploma and be DONE. It’s not lack of interest — actually, I really enjoy Gem Ident — but the homework “deadline” has gotten old, and I’m tired of worrying about it.

I’ll post again later this week with some new jewelry pieces, once I get a commission delivered. (My jewelry-making stint was unexpectedly brief, will resume in January. The short version: my work schedule sucks. The end.)

Filed Under: Gems & Gemology Tagged With: distance education, gem ident

Turning over a new… facet?

October 24, 2013 By Danielle

So it occurs to me that I’ve only posted five times this year. No good excuse for that, really. Is anyone still reading? [crickets]

I can’t seem to find a theme I like, my topics bounce around… well, let’s face it, I’d rather fiddle with the stylesheet than write a post. I like thinking about writing posts, but no posts actually get written. I still like posting jewelry pictures though, so my Pinterest boards are reasonably active. I’ve started two “visual archive” type blogs, on ancient and antique jewelry, as a sort of miniature, self-hosted Pinterest. (For a few reasons. Read about them here.)

Since last we met, I took a wonderful class on carving wax models for casting (which I didn’t blog about), and have had the past two months off my jewelry lessons, as my teacher was on the road (nothing to blog about.) I have finished a few more stone boxes for Gem Ident (blog-worthy), and have a goal to be done with the boxes by early January (highly blog-worthy, should it occur as scheduled.) I have my eye on several museum exhibition catalogs, as there’s a lot of amazing jewelry exhibits on, mostly in places I’m unable to visit (questionably blog-worthy?)

I expect to start making jewelry pieces for sale this fall/winter, once I have access to a workshop again. I am taking commissions on a very limited basis (limited by time — I have very little of it.) For now, I work in sterling silver, with the loveliest stones I can get my hands on. I really need to revive my Etsy and list my resin pieces there, if there’s interest. (Hint: comment if interested.)

A note for subscribers: I have changed the subscribe-to-posts email service, so if you got two of these emailed to you, please keep the MailChimp one and unsubscribe from the other one. (The new one has a pretty amethyst graphic at the top.) If you only got the WordPress one, please unsubscribe, and fill in the form again here on the site to get on the new list. Finally, if you got this blog post and aren’t sure why, you joined a mailing list for my jewelry business, and I have combined two lists into one. (I promise not to post so often as to be annoying, but if this isn’t what you want to read, please feel free to unsubscribe.)

Filed Under: Detritus Tagged With: gem ident, goldsmithing, jewelry, museums

Twelve Weeks of Silversmithing

August 3, 2013 By Danielle

Rainbow moonstone pendant, May 2013

I know, I know. Twelve weeks of silversmithing lessons, and NO BLOG POST? (I need to write about Gemstone Identification as well; save that for another day.) What can I say? It’s been a busy spring summer year.

I started taking weekly silversmithing classes in Medford at the beginning of May, from Bob Sharp, a local jeweler and lapidary (and fellow Roxy Ann member.) I don’t have any of my own equipment yet, so it gives me a chance to practice the process of making things, with some help and supervision. I’ve made several pieces now, and I definitely think I’m improving, though I have a long way to go.

Finished larimar & rainbow moonstone pendant, May 2013

Mostly what I’ve made are bezel-set gemstone pendants. Nearly everything has been a gift — I like making jewelry for other people, that’s nothing new. My first piece (left) was for my sister’s 25th birthday, and was probably more complicated than I should have attempted, but I think it came out well.

Bezels, before trimming, one got a little... melted. July 2013

It’s been an interesting few months. Soldering is getting easier, but it can still be mysterious (did I say mysterious? I meant “insanely difficult”.) Sometimes, things don’t go as expected (example at right: partially melted/burnt bezel, top right.) Sometimes the stone isn’t really cut well for setting. Sometimes I file really well, and sometimes I file off part of my fingernail (in a bad way.) Some nights I get a ton done in three hours, and other nights (like this past Thursday), every tool I need to use is malfunctioning, and everything I do takes three times as long as it should.

I have two more weeks of class. At the end of August, my teacher is out of town for two months, so I’m finishing up two more pieces (a bracelet, and a ring), and then I’ll have a break. I’m trying (when I remember to bring my camera) to document the process, so you can see how it starts, what the middle stages look like, and how it comes out as a finished piece. Enjoy the photos!

Rainbow moonstone pendant, May 2013

Star ruby and labradorite pendants, June 2013

Star ruby and labradorite pendants, June 2013

Finished larimar and quartz drusy pendants, July 2013

Pendant bezels in progress, July 2013

Finished larimar & rainbow moonstone pendant, May 2013

Larimar & rainbow moonstone pendant, in progress, May 2013

Small labradorite cabochon and bezel (for a ring), in progress, July 2013

Larimar and quartz drusy pendants, in progress, July 2013

Quartz drusy pendant, in progress, July 2013

Labradorite cabochons and bezels in progress, July 2013

Larimar pendant, in progress, July 2013

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: goldsmithing

Rings!

March 18, 2013 By Danielle

Copper wirework ring with moss agate

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on wirework rings — a bit challenging, given the number of wires one has to control, all at once, but with a pretty nice result (I think.) I made a few practice rings in copper wire, before attempting more costly metal. The below ring (a special present) is pink and yellow gold-filled wire, with a dreamy peach-colored moonstone I found in Tucson.

Gold-filled wirework ring with peach moonstone

Interested in a ring of your own? I take commissions!

Filed Under: Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: moonstone, rings, wire working

Design Class, Gemology, etc

March 7, 2013 By Danielle

Some finished design sketches from Design class, February 2013
Some finished design sketches from Design class, February 2013

I meant to do a whole post on the Design class I took at Revere Academy last month, and lookie here, it’s a month later. Oops. To sum up, I had a great weekend in San Francisco, learned a lot, loved the school, and I can’t wait to take another class there, once they reopen at their new location (conveniently, across the street from their old location!)

I did a lot of drawing in two days, much more than I’m accustomed to, and it felt good to put ink to paper, in quantity, without caring (much) about the result (which was the point, to get ideas out without too much inner-critique.) I learned a bit about jewelry rendering — how to shade, how to make metal look like metal, etc. There’s two classes that go far more in-depth into rendering, both with dry and wet media. We made “jewelry” out of foil, designed things based on patterns in nature, and learned about generating original ideas, and documenting the idea development process. Useful stuff!

What else? I’ve been working with wire lately, studying two instructional DVDs from Wire-Sculpture.com. So far I’ve made an all-wire bracelet (like a cuff, but with a clasp), and a wire-work cabochon ring. My one picture of those is pretty lousy; I’ll take another one soon.

I just finished box #22 in Gemstone ID; I have 14 more boxes to go (280 stones), which means I’m almost halfway through the 500 stones I will examine throughout the course. There’s a lot left, but at the same time, I’ve seen a lot already! (Over 200!)

Unrelated (yet sortof related), I retired from my spaceflight blog this week, and in a way, Many Faceted has become my personal blog. I’m documenting my various gem/jewelry pursuits and adventures, and it’s fun to share! (I’ll be launching another jewelry blog soon, more research and article-oriented.)

Thanks for reading, and for anyone who came over from Silver Rockets, hello and welcome!

PS: When did this site get so pink? Can you tell I haven’t looked at it in a bit? LOL

Filed Under: Gems & Gemology, Goldsmithing & Jewelry Tagged With: design, distance education, gem ident, jewelry, wire working

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